Neurosciences News

New research presented at the 2016 America Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene annual meeting found mosquitoes can carry more than one flavivirus at a time, enabling them to potentially infect humans with Zika and chikungunya viruses in a single bite.

The FDA has granted a breakthrough therapy designation to Actemra for the treatment of giant cell arteritis, for which no therapies have been approved in more than 50 years, according to a Genentech press release.

A 49-year-old Brazilian man with no known medical history was admitted to the hospital for headache, ptosis of the right upper eyelid and abnormal eye movements. He had been discharged from the hospital recently with a working diagnosis of migraine, only to be admitted again with worsening symptoms. The admitting team ordered an MRI of the brain that showed a possible cavernous sinus thrombosis. At this point, Ophthalmology was urgently consulted. On review of systems, the patient complained of a bifrontal headache but denied any ocular pain or changes in his vision.

A 49-year-old Brazilian man with no known medical history was admitted to the hospital for headache, ptosis of the right upper eyelid and abnormal eye movements. He had been discharged from the hospital recently with a working diagnosis of migraine, only to be admitted again with worsening symptoms. The admitting team ordered an MRI of the brain that showed a possible cavernous sinus thrombosis. At this point, Ophthalmology was urgently consulted. On review of systems, the patient complained of a bifrontal headache but denied any ocular pain or changes in his vision.

A 17-year-old white boy with myopia presented urgently to the pediatric ophthalmology department for new onset diplopia and ptosis of the left upper lid. He had developed binocular diplopia for 4 days before presentation, as well as left upper lid ptosis, which worsened in the last 2 days. He denied any other changes in vision but did complain of pain in the right eye with eye movement.

A 34-year-old woman with a history of multiple sclerosis and prior optic neuritis in the right eye presented to the neuro-ophthalmology clinic with 3 days of pain with eye movement and mildly decreased vision in the left eye. She reported fatigue and numbness in her hands with exposure to heat, but review of systems was otherwise negative.

Researchers at the University of Liverpool discovered that a broad set of neurological and psychiatric symptoms persisted in Ebola virus survivors more than 1 year after the patients were discharged from the hospital.

An OTC antihistamine reversed chronic vision damage in patients with multiple sclerosis, according to a preliminary study released ahead of the American Academy of Neurology meeting.

The CDC released interim guidelines for the treatment of Ebola survivors who have fully recovered and seek subsequent care.

New findings from the Prevail III trial revealed long-term neurological problems in most Ebola survivors 6 months after their initial infection.